About Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is generally identified as the Destroyer in the trinity or trimurthi of the Hindu pantheon of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. But there is much more to the Mahadeva than is conveyed through this simplistic definition. The word "Shiva" means "that which is not." Lord Shiva is quite literally seen as nothing or no-thing. The scriptures, such as the Shiv Puran state that both creation and dissolution of the universe happen in Shiva's lap, implying that the universe is born out of nothing, and will also dissolve into nothing. This is very much in line with what modern cosmology states about the evolution of the universe. The Big Bang theory implies and points to the fact that all of creation came out of nothingness, echoing what the sages of ancient India perceived several millennia ago.

History

Historically, Shiva has been the most important and significant god in the Indian subcontinent. He appears on the seals of the Harappan civilization in the Indus valley 4500 years ago. Seated in the padmasana posture commonly seen even today among yoga practitioners, Shiva is surrounded by several animals in a seal known as the Pashupati seal. These seals were probably used as identification markers during trade and commerce, and the presence of Shiva on such a seal implies that he held an important position in the Harappan civilization. Considering that the roots of Harappa go back 9000 years to the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh, it is quite possible that the worship of Shiva dates back at least nine millennia.

Before the advent of the Islamic invasions that began around 800AD, the Indian subcontinent was primarily a Shaiva culture. Most temples were constructed in honor of some form or aspect of Lord Shiva. With the arrival of the Muslim armies however, most of these temples, especially in the north of India, were destroyed, and Shiva worship receded to a certain extent. South India however remained a flourishing Shaiva culture, as evidenced by the many awe-inspiring temples in the region. Many of these temples are over a thousand years old and were themselves constructed over older versions of an already established sacred space. The Chidambaram temple in Tamil Nadu for example was probably a place of pilgrimage as far back as between two and three thousand years ago. The present version garba griha or sanctum sanctorum was built in the sixth century AD, and the larger structure of the temple came up over the next six or seven centuries, as several dynasties, most notable the Cholas and Pandyas, embellished it.

Forms of Shiva

Adiyogi

Shiva is worshiped in many forms. Considering the evidence from the Harappan civilization, he was probably worshiped as a yogi and pashupati originally. What's more, the form of Pashupati is related and probably derived from the form of Shiva as a yogi. Thus, Shiva as a yogi is almost certainly the most ancient aspect of Shiva.

In the yogic lore, Lord Shiva is known as the Adiyogi or the first yogi, and the Adi Guru or the first guru. He is the fount of the yogic sciences and the origin of yoga. It is said that about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, Shiva chose to impart the yogic sciences to humanity. He chose seven disciples, who are today known in the scriptures as the Saptarishis, and began to transmit this mystical technology to them. This event is said to have occurred on the banks of the Kantisarovar lake, which lies six kilometers beyond the Kedarnath Jyotirlinga. This holy day of transmission is still celebrated today as Guru Purnima, which falls in the lunar month of Ashadha in the Indian calendar, and corresponds to June-July in the Gregorian calendar.

Pashupati

Even today, the symbolism of Lord Shiva includes the presence of animals like Nandi the bull, who serves as his vehicle, and Vasuki the snake, around his neck. "Pashupati" literally means the "Lord of Animals," and it represents how a human being can rise beyond the animal instincts within him, to attain divinity. The process of "engineering" this rise by eliminating the "vasanas" or tendencies of animal nature, is known as yoga. Thus, Pashupati is probably a derivative of Adiyogi or Adi Guru, which perhaps explains why these two forms are combined in the Harappan seals.

Nataraja

Nataraja is the Lord of Dance, where Shiva is represented as the cosmic dancer performing his Anandatandava or Dance of Bliss. Shiva is enshrined as Nataraja in the Chidambaram Thillai Nataraja temple. Nataraja represents the fundamental mechanics of creation. This fact has been recognized by the western scientific community as well. It is not aesthetics alone that led the renowned CERN high-energy laboratory in Laussane, Switzerland chose to install a two-meter-high Nataraja statue at their entrance.

Ananda Kumaraswami and Fritjoj Capra have both argued that the posture of the Nataraja statue is very similar to what is seen during interactions between sub-atomic particles in the bubble chamber used in high-energy physics experiments. They say that the statue is an allegory for the creation and destruction that is happening constantly in existence.

Bhairava

Bhairava or Kala Bhairava is one of the more fearsome forms of Shiva. In mythological stories, Kala Bhairava is said to have ripped off Brahma's fifth head! Kala Bhairava is the Lord of Time, and the Lord of that realm that is beyond even death. This is represented in the story of Markandeya, where Shiva ensures that even Yama, the God of Death cannot lay his noose upon Markandeya's neck. Kala Bhairava is closely associated with the occult and is worshiped by many schools of ascetics and kapalikas - who walk around with a skull in their hand, just as Kala Bhairava walked around with Brahma's head.

Rudra

Rudra is another ancient form of Shiva. He finds mention even in the Rig Veda which was composed over 5000 years ago. Rudra means "the roarer," and represents Shiva in a very fierce form. However, Rudra also represents a dialectical expression of a profound scientific truth. His roar is a metaphor for the Big Bang that kick-started the universe.

There is a still more subtle truth here that modern physics is only just beginning to decipher. According to yogi and mystic Sadhguru, Rudra represents not just one Big Bang, but a series of Big Bangs. In the yogic lore, it is said that the universe was not created once by 84 times. This is the reason why Hatha Yoga prescribes 84 fundamental asanas. Thus, Rudra represents many Big Bangs, compressed into a roar. Modern physics is also coming to a similar conclusion today. Physicists Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok in their Brane-theory conclude that the universe is not the result of one Big Bang, but is a result of a continuous series of Bangs. They have no clear picture of the number of Bangs though.

Shiva's Companions

Parvati

Parvati is Shiva's wife and consort. According to the myths, she is the embodiment of Shakti, the divine feminine or Prakriti, who was embodied to be the dual of Shiva, the divine masculine or Purusha. The story goes that Parvati was first born as Sati, only to immolate herself upon being humiliated by her father's disrespect for Shiva. She was then reborn as Parvati to Himavat, the king of the Mountains.

Parvati or Shakti is present at several temples, as the deity's consort. There are also many aspects of Parvati for whom there are full-fledged goddess temples, such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai.

Ganesha

Ganesha is seen as Shiva and Parvati's son, though in reality, he was created by Parvati alone, from her own body, using her tantric capabilities. Ganesha is often portrayed with an elephant head, though in many older texts, he is described as having a gana (one of Shiva's wild company). However, he was born quite a normal child, and acquired the unusual head after Shiva chopped it off!

Ganesha is worshiped as the remover of obstacles and is an extremely popular god in India. He has been worshiped since ancient times, and is also a significant part of tantric rituals.

Karthikeya

Karthikeya is Shiva and Parvati's other son, though once again, this is not strictly true. Karthikeya was born solely of Shiva's seed. He is said to have been an immensely capable being and a fierce warrior. At the age of seven days, he fought Taraka the asura and slew him.

Karhtikeya is also known as Skanda, Subramanya and Muruga. He is also known as Shanmukha or six-faced one, and is worshiped widely, especially in the south of India. He is primarily worshiped as a bachelor, though this is not always the case. The Ghati Subramanya hill in Karthikeya is known to have been his place of samadhi, and it is said that all the pebbles in this hill are six-faced, reflecting Karthikeya's own nature.

Ganas

The ganas are Shiva's constant companions - his horde so to speak. They are described in various ways in the scriptures, but invariably, every description portrays them as demented or unusual beings who do not seem to belong to this world. Some of them are described as having many heads, some with limbs sticking out of their heads, and some without proper bodies. In fact, Ganesha is also described as having a gana's head rather than an elephant's head in certain texts. This is why he is known as Ganapati or "Chief of ganas."